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This study examines the attitudes toward the Jews among the leaders and the most important clerics of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The study focuses especially on anti-Semitic views. The research falls within the scope of general church history, and it is made from the perspective of the history of ideas. Research sources include Evangelical Lutheran newspapers, theological and religious literature and ephemera, church records, as well as bishops' and major religious organizations' archives. The study shows that there were quite sharp anti-Semitic views in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and that almost all of the key actors of the Church approved the moderate anti-Semitic perceptions of the era according to which the influence of Jews was growing. Until now, anti-Semitism in the Church of Finland has mainly been studied in other fields of historical research, but the ecclesiastical anti-Semitic atmosphere, in the early 1920s in particular, has not been properly analyzed.
Anti-Semitism was present in all key benchmark church groups, and five out the six Finnish-speaking bishops, that is Gustaf Johansson, I. O. Colliander, J. R. Koskimies, Erkki Kaila and Lauri Ingman, presented anti-Semitic ideas, but Ingman only before becoming Archbishop. Jaakko Gummerus was an exception, but he did not defend Jews either, when a strong anti-Semitic campaign broke out in his diocese at the turn of the 1930s, but rather referred to it as a side effect of anti-Communist activity.
The anti-Semitism in the Finnish Church had a religious background and was justified as a part of the Christian interpretation of history, in which the Jews were subject to the curse. Anti-Semitism was, therefore, a part of an overall vision of the religious interpretation of the world. Only in a few cases the anti-Semitism was purely political or national.
The Finnish Church lacked three internationally significant features of the phenomenon. Even though Jews were considered a race, this was not a clear concept. The churchmen did not underline interracial hierarchy, and Jews were never presented as a lower race. Secondly, none of the ecclesiastical key figures planned or encouraged anyone to take anti-Semitic action. The plan of new civil rights for Jews met with calls for limitations during the process, and after the passing of the law some priests considered granting the civil rights to be a mistake. Nevertheless, none of the prominent clerics proposed canceling them or imposing other restrictions on the lives of Finnish Jews. Thirdly, hatred for Jews was not preached in the Church.
The anti-Semitism in the church was not an isolated phenomenon separate from ecclesiastical, political and international life. It was always tied to world events, movements of the anti-Semitic ideology, as well as internal discussions and dynamics of the Church. New openings for conversation, of course, occurred, but when examined carefully, none of the anti-Semitic outbursts were separate from the internal discussions of the church or general developments of the phenomenon.
None of the leading clerics considered themselves anti-Semites, because anti-Semitism as a concept was understood in a narrow way either as hatred of Jews or as a political movement aimed at limiting their rights. On the other hand, although enmities were clearly dissociated from, none of the central ecclesiastical opinion leaders publicly questioned the prevailing notion of the negativity of Jewish aspects and practice.
This study demonstrates, how flexibly, in a suitable atmosphere, the key ideas of modern anti-Semitism were connected to the Christian conception of history and the image of Jews. This study also shows, that anti-Semitism was much more common phenomenon throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and it even extended to the leadership of the Church.

This thesis investigates the transmission processes of earlier traditions in Judaism during the late Second Temple period (c. 250 BCE-70 CE). In previous research transmission has been seen rather one-sidedly as a series of literary dependencies that have been investigated almost exclusively as textual changes. The current study will contribute to this broad discussion from the point of view of the changes observable in the late Second Temple literature depicting in various ways the creation of humanity traditions. In practice the thesis maps out, how Jewish sages answered the most fundamental questions of human existence, such as why do humans live and die, and how can we live in harmony with nature, each other, and God. The focus of the study is on the different strategies of interpreting and transmitting the creation of humanity traditions.
This dissertation is the first comprehensive study on changes in the traditions concerning the creation of humanity and their interpretation in late Second Temple Jewish literature, and what can they reveal about the mechanics of the transmission processes. Much has already been written by scholars, especially during the recent decade, concerning the general way texts were formed and the intentional and accidental changes happening in them during a literary transmission processes, as well as, on specific aspects of the individual source texts used in the thesis. But thus far there have been no studies that would have incorporated the full source material available from the Second Temple period with so many texts from different genres and text corpora, and investigated them from the perspective of a particular biblical tradition.
It is demonstrated that the two creation accounts attested in Genesis form the background and stepping stone for all the later interpretive textual sources analyzed in this study. These two creation accounts are treated in numerous different ways in texts from the late Second Temple period when the form and status of Genesis had not yet been fully fixed. Some texts focus merely on the two creation accounts of Genesis and read them as one narrative. Many select and emphasize more elements from either the first or the second creation account whereas others seem to aim to incorporate all the available material from a wider range of traditions. Finally, there are also some compositions that pick a theme or an image from the Genesis creation accounts, supplement it with material from elsewhere and build their own interpretation on the basis of all of these. This research shows that in order to draw a comprehensive picture of the reception and transmission processes of the creation of humanity, the investigation cannot just function between the different text forms and with questions and terminology strictly linked to such a framework. Therefore, such an exploration should rather also incorporate the recognition of the importance of scribes and the various strategies they used, as well as, a consideration of the paradigm shifts on the societal level, that sometimes surfaced on the textual level and that forced scribes to reinterpret texts and traditions in novel ways.

Jukka Yrjölä: A bridge of faith across the Gulf of Finland: Ecclesiastical connections between Finns and Estonians from 1918 to 1939
The independence of Finland and Estonia created the conditions for the emergence and development of ecclesiastical connections between the two countries. Initially, these connections were established primarily by associations that represented various ecclesiastical operations. Such associations had already been set up in Finland during the period of autonomy (1809−1917), but similar activities did not begin in Estonia until the country s independence in 1918. The first connections were created by missionary workers, the YMCA, Suomen Kirkon Seurakuntatyön Keskusliitto (the Central Association for Parish Work of the Church of Finland) and the Laestadian new revival movement.
The initial difficulties of the Church of Estonia meant that more organised forms of contact were not established until the late 1920s, when the collaboration expanded to include parish youth work, Sunday schools, Christian student activities and the Christian work of the railway mission. Other efforts included the Finnish diaspora activities in Narva and Tallinn as well as the meetings of clergymen in the recreational groups at Finno-Ugric cultural conferences and the convocations of Finnish and Estonian clergy.
For the Finns, the rise of nationalism and the resulting interest in kindred peoples, the Finno-Ugrians, provided the ideological basis for developing connections. The ecclesiastical connections to Estonia were not motivated by a single goal. Whereas the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission shared an operational basis with the YMCA, the railway mission and Sunday schools, the connections of the Laestadian new revival movement were rooted in the revivalist movement, and the contacts of Finnish university students and the Finnish Christian Youth Organisation developed on the same basis from the late 1920s onwards by incorporating national revivalist efforts with the then-prevalent ideas of the Norwegian revivalist preacher Ole Hallesby. The recreational groups at Finno-Ugric cultural conferences, the Finnish-Estonian convocations of the Suomen Kirkon Pappisliitto (the Clerical Association of the Church of Finland), the Hungarian-organised Finno-Ugric convocation in Budapest, and the Lappeenranta kindred peoples camp represented the connection that was perhaps most genuinely inspired by the kindred peoples ideology. The symbols of the kindred connection between the churches included common roots, blood relations, cultural heritage, people s suffering and the Evangelical faith. Separate from the kindred peoples activities per se, the activities of the Herättäjä-Yhdistys (the Awakening Society) in Estonian Ingria had such a strong Finnish nationalist tone that they led to a head-on confrontation with the Estonian regime headed by Konstantin Päts.

Book history in Old Finland
Ville Vauhkonen s dissertation examines the development of literacy and the literary world in the areas that Russia gained from Sweden following the peace treaties of Uusikaupunki (1721) and Turku (1743), territories now known as Old Finland (or the Viipuri Governorate), and analyzes the literary world in these areas.
The 18th century expressly characterizes a major turning point in the progress of literacy and the literary world in Old Finland. The process could be termed a spreading of peasant literacy . This dissertation studies the shift by examining how literacy was taught in Old Finland, how popular education was governed and administered, how literacy skills were taught, what kind of a literary world opened to the local people who had learnt to read and where these books came from.
Church registers serve as the main source of research data providing references in to literacy skills. These references, which are rather open to interpretation, are analysed by comparing them to notes in consistory inspection records and records on book possessions in estate inventory deeds.
In Old Finland popular teaching was led by the diocesan chapters of Viipuri and Hamina. That is why their decision making processes are here investigated by inspecting data from consistory records. The Crown of Russia showed an increasing interest in popular education throughout the century. Familiarity with the background of the Russian Empire is necessary in order to understand the decision making processes of the diocesan chapters in Old Finland. I have also studied the history of the birth of Finnish-language literature and book trade routes in Old Finland. These, in turn, offer insight into what the literary-cultural world was like in the area, a Lutheran intersection between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire.
In the Uusikaupunki Peace Treaty Estonia and Livonia south of the Gulf of Finland were also annexed to Russia. They stand out as the most important points of comparison for the development of literacy in Old Finland. Popular education in these regions was governed by the same colleges of justice, and the developments in Estonia and Livonia reveal that the aspects that distinguish popular education in Old Finland from its Swedish counterpart are explicitly rooted in the 18th-century modernization efforts of the Russian Crown. Lutheranism in the Russian Empire had a tangible effect on the literary world of Old Finland. The centres of Russian Lutheranism were Livonia and St Petersburg. Direct sources on the history of Old Finland can also be found in Estonia, since both the town schools and book censorship in old Finland came under the governance of the University of Tartu in 1804. These sources have been carefully studied for this dissertation. Comparisons especially in terms of literacy skills are also made with Ingria, St Petersburg and the Finnish territories under Swedish rule.
The study of the development of literacy clearly points out the dispersion among the territories of Old Finland. These were, after all, an area arbitrarily defined by the two peace treaties, including parts of Karelia north of Lake Ladoga, parts of southern Savonia (central/eastern Finland), traditional core areas of the Kingdom of Sweden like the Vyborg region but also the county of Käkisalmi (Kexholm) which had not become Lutheran until the 17th century. This regional diversity of Old Finland has very rarely been dealt with in academic research.
Finally, the Finnish-language literature produced in Old Finland especially illustrates the large extent to which literary influences were passed on to Finland through Estonia. The issue entails broader significances, too, but in the case of Old Finland the importance is evident.
In Old Finland, Estonia and Livonia the systematic efforts of to establish literacy that had begun in the late 17th century continued throughout the 18th century. The teaching was based on a church law issued in 1686 which remained in force in the mentioned regions after the peace treaties. It yielded results slowly and laboriously but surely. Pietistic Lutheranism, favoured by the Russian Empire, reformed the practisees of popular education significantly over the course of the century. Genuine literacy finally became the goal of the teaching and started to gain ground. Hence these efforts in the 18th century give root to literacy eventually led to the birth of the press in the next century, as well as national and religious revivalism and the emergence of peasant writers. All these developments presupposed a peasant audience who knew their alphabet. This makes popular education in the 18th century a topic well worth the research

ABSTRACT
This study examines ideal masculinities in the Synoptic Gospels, focusing especially on the masculinity of Jesus. In addition, since masculinity is defined in relation to other masculinities and femininities, other male and female characters in the Synoptic Gospels are studied as well. The focus of this study is not the historical Jesus, but instead it attempts to determine how the Synoptic Gospels portray Jesus and the other characters as masculine and what kind of masculinity the Synoptic Gospels present as the ideal. As a theoretical framework for the study of masculinities, I employ a revised version of R. W. Connell s concepts of hegemonic and non-hegemonic masculinities.
I suggest that the most fruitful approach is to see the masculinities of early Christianity as marginalized. Marginalized masculinities may have several strategies in relation to hegemonic masculinities, ranging from acceptance or complicity to resistance and voluntary marginality. In this study, my intention is to see whether these different strategies can be found in the Synoptic Gospels. This approach confirms that the Synoptic Gospels indeed had several potential strategies vis-à-vis hegemonic masculinities. In the ancient Greco-Roman world, there appears to have been at least two ideals of masculinity competing for the hegemonic position. One advocated self-assertive behavior, whereas the other emphasized the importance of self-control. Both of these ideals are found in a wide variety of sources, although the self-controlled ideal is more widespread in philosophical writings, especially Stoic texts.
In contrast to the opponents of Jesus, who are presented as unmasculine, the Synoptic Gospels argue that Jesus and the disciples offer superior methods of fulfilling the ideals of masculinity. The ideal masculinity of the Synoptic Gospels presented in Jesus teaching is close to the self-controlled ideal of masculinity. Nevertheless, there are also occasions where Jesus teaching goes further than the self-controlled ideal of masculinity into what seems like voluntary acceptance of the marginal position of the early Christians. The disciples are instructed to adopt the social position of marginal groups, such as children, slaves, and eunuchs. This idea of voluntary marginalization is advocated especially in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, with Matthew occasionally advocating an even more voluntarily marginal ideal than Mark. Luke, on the other hand, seems to be closer to the hegemonic ideals.
In this study, I show that the Gospel of Luke is closest and most complicit with the ancient Greco-Roman ideal of self-controlled masculinity. This can be seen throughout Luke s Gospel, but it is most evident in the way that Luke changes the passion narrative and Mark s depictions of Jesus emotions. The Gospel of Mark, on the other hand, portrays both Jesus and the disciples as examples of voluntarily marginalized masculinity. Matthew enhances the depiction of Jesus by moving it closer to the ancient Greco-Roman ideal of self-controlled masculinity, but at the same time he maintains that the disciples should voluntarily accept the marginalized position of the early Christians.

In this study I analyse Christine de Pizan's (1364/1365-1430/1431) ideas on gender and the legal allegories in her defence of women, especially in the Cité des dames. The method of this study is philosophical analysis, which focuses on the analysis of basic terms, concepts and argumentation. The first chapter deals with the historical background of the conceptions of gender that influenced Christine. The most influential were the Aristotelian-Scholastic conception of gender, according to which women are defective men, and the Augustinian conception of gender, which emphasizes the equal rational capacities of the sexes, but also women s subservient role in the social hierarchy.
The second chapter concerns Christine s conception of gender, including the origins of gender, the function of gender and gender change. Christine's conception is based on an ontological dualism, according to which material bodies are reflections of divine ideas. As a form, gender is a universal idea in the divine mind. As a body, gender is a particular, material reflection of the universal form of a man or a woman. Christine's conception of the function of gender is based on the complementary characteristics of women and men. She thought that the humoral complexion of material bodies is gendered, which affects their characteristics. The possibility of gender change is based on Christine's idea that gendered characteristics are also a result of habituation, where learning new practices changes the humoral complexion of the body.
The third chapter concerns Christine's ideas on law and the legal allegories in her defence of women in Cité des dames. Christine's legal allegories are based on the Thomistic fourfold division of law as eternal, natural, human and revealed divine law. The first book of Cité des dames, where Christine sets the foundational stones and builds a protective wall with the help of Lady Reason, symbolizes natural law and human law. The second book, in which Christine builds houses with the help of Lady Rectitude, symbolizes divine law. Establishing the citizenship of women symbolizes drawing the constitution of the city of ladies. The third book, where Christine appoints the Virgin Mary as the Queen with the help of Lady Justice, symbolizes the Thomistic conception of a just ruler.
My main argument is that, according to Christine, the understanding of the nature of women is connected to the understanding of God's law. Because law is God's plan of government, which contains the ideas of created things, including the ideas of a woman and a man, gender is a part of God's law. Therefore, in a society where the importance of women is not recognized, the interpretation of law is also faulty. This requires the simultaneous reinterpretation of both gender and law in order for society to be equitable.

One s own Body and the Arc of Narrating
The process of meaning according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty s bodily and Paul Ricoeur s narrative conception of imagination.
The focus of my research is on the question of imagination in Maurice Merleau-Ponty s (1908-1961) phenomenology of the body, and Paul Ricoeur s (1913-2005) hermeneutics of narrativity. I inquire into how bodily and narrative imagination affect the process through which I make sense of myself and of my being, of others, of the world and of the communication. Through this inquiry I aim to construct a conceptual framework of religious meaning, which in its nature is multidimensional. My hypothesis is that conceptions of imagination based on the phenomenology of the body and on narrativity are mutually dependent, especially in the area of religious meaning. On a more general level, both one s own bodily wisdom and the wisdom that comes from making stories are necessary to appreciate the fullness of the meaning.
In my investigation of these aspects of productive imagination I examine in detail Merleau-Ponty s early phenomenological work Phénoménologie de la perception (Phenomenology of Perception, 1945) and Ricoeur s trilogy Temps et récit (Time and Narrative, 1983-1985). My method is philosophical analysis.
My dissertation comprises two main parts. Chapters three and four explore Merleau-Ponty s bodily and phenomenological conception of imagination. Because he does not express a systematic view on imagination, it is necessary to construct one on the basis of his argumentation on other subjects. This is an interesting task given the important role of imagination in his phenomenology of the body. Many aspects of imagination that are usually related to his late ontological philosophy are already present in Phénoménologie de la perception. It is through an analysis of this early work in particular that one might fully appreciate the rootedness of imagination in the body an aspect that gives some originality to Merleau-Ponty s conception compared to many others. The second main part of my research brings in the hermeneutic perspective. Chapters five and six explore Ricoeur s conception of narrative imagination, as elaborated in Temps et récit. This trilogy highlights Ricoeur s thinking on semantic innovation, on the power of language to open up the possibilities of existence. In it he presents narrative imagination as a three-part process shaping the practical field of human existence. The narrative arc he constructs extends from the prefiguration of life to the configuration of narrative (made productive by the schematic capacity of imagination), the aim being to refigure practical life through the subject who appropriates the possibilities opened up in the narrative.
The capacity of narrative imagination to bring disparate elements into one plot also facilitates consideration of personal identity. In telling the story of my life I bring all the heterogeneous episodes into a meaningful unity. Ricoeur helps us to see our identity as a narrative identity: even if we cannot be the authors of our life, we may be a co-author of its significance. The idea of narrative imagination, with its focus on imaginative variation and critical distanciation, could also be applied to the religious narratives through which we refigure our everyday life and our cultural identity.
The connection to practical life is an essential element in Ricoeur s conception of imagination. I show in my research how narrative imagination is based on the idea of a bodily subject. It is on this bodily level that the subject can put the effects of the narrative into practice. The aim is to free one s own possibilities and capabilities. This brings Ricoeur to the theme of l homme capable, a theme that unites his latest philosophy with the philosophical anthropology with which he began his philosophical career.
Both the bodily and the narrative conceptions of imagination offer fruitful insights into religious meaning such as constituted in the everyday practices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. For example, Merleau-Ponty s conception of one s own bodily wisdom includes the idea that understanding something is more about I can and not so much about I think, that In many instances of religious life, such as the Sunday service, it is on this level of bodily wisdom in particular that the meanings are appropriated. Kneeling with others, sensing their presence nearby, touching the bread and tasting the wine communicate the meaning of the communion on the very basic level of human existence, on the level of the body. This experience cannot become a reflected part of my life without my being able to narrate it, however. Hence, the linguistic and narrative aspects are essential in allowing my religious experiences somehow to refigure my everyday life.

ABSTRACT
The dissertation examines the opponents of Paul and the church in the letter to the Philippians from the three interrelated viewpoints of ancient polemical rhetoric, identity formation and historical reality behind the text. Despite its friendly and heartfelt tone, Philippians contains several passages where Paul turns his attention to people, whom he portrays as opponents of some kind, most notably Phil 1:15-18a; 1:27-30, and throughout Phil 3. The passages contain some of Paul s most belligerent polemic. In Phil 3, for example, Paul calls some, who value Jewish identity markers dogs and evil workers , and scornfully likens their circumcision to mutilation. At the end of the same chapter Paul also speaks of enemies of the cross of Christ , whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame .
In order to avoid simplistic, literal readings of the polemical texts, the dissertation applies recent advances in the study of ancient vilification, which suggest that slanderous name-calling or sweeping accusations of moral depravity cannot be read as accurate depictions of the opponents. In this light, Paul s accusation about the opponents libertinistic lifestyle in Phil 3:18-19, for instance, should not be understood as a historically accurate description of the opponents.
In fact, polemical rhetoric provides more in terms of identity formation than historical information. This dissertation applies the social psychological social identity approach (SIA) in order to understand the role of opponents in this process. The SIA helps to explain how and why Paul, for example, exaggerates differences (polarizes) between his own group and the opponents, and why the opponents are denigrated and ridiculed to such measure. These actions are explained as originating from the basic human need for a distinct and positive identity. Paul s estimate of his own identity in relation to Judaism in Phil 3:4-9 is, in turn, understood as reflecting his flexible social identity. In Philippians Paul conforms to a Gentile outlook in order to establish himself as a prototypical leader of the Gentile Philippian church.
Guided by awareness of the problematic relationship between polemical text and history, the dissertation also seeks to establish a believable historical context for the letter to the Philippians. The study re-evaluates the relationship between Paul and the Jerusalem-based Jewish Christ-believing community from the time of the so-called Antioch incident and the Jerusalem meeting, through the Galatian crisis, to Paul s last visit in Jerusalem before his arrest and the writing of Philippians. The study argues that Paul was continuously on problematic terms with the Jerusalem-based community, which makes it highly likely that they are the Jewish Christ-believing opponents referred to in Philippians as well.
Overall, the dissertation illustrates how Paul engages in identity formation through polemical rhetoric in Philippians, a letter written near the end of his career and amid disagreements in the earliest Christ-believing church.

The Holy See, Poland and the Polish-Ukrainian Tensions in Eastern Galicia, 1921-1931
This study analyzes the principles that guided the Holy See in problems generated by Polish-Ukrainian tensions during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI. The geographical focus is in Poland where Pius XI had acted as apostolic visitor and nuncio only eight months before he ascended the throne of Saint Peter. Poland was declared independent in November 1918, and from the start, the Poles were thrown into competition with the republic s largest minority, the three million Greek Catholic Ukrainians of Eastern Galicia. The Ukrainians reluctance to acknowledge Polish dominance over Eastern Galicia in addition to the government s aspirations to pressure them into being loyal citizens resulted in nationalist tensions that persisted throughout the interwar period. These tensions were also reflected in religious matters, occasionally causing the Holy See to become involved with the incidents between the Polish government and the Greek Catholic Ukrainians.
The study is based on the Holy See s primary sources that have been available for consultation since 2006. It provides the first thorough investigation of problems generated by Polish-Ukrainian tensions expressly from the point of view of the Holy See and the principles that influenced its responses.
The study shows that the Vatican was guided by three main principles: the safeguarding and uncompromising defense of the rights of the Catholic Church and its freedom of action, adhering to the impartiality of the Holy See, and the promoting of peace between nations and preventing unrest.
The principle of defending the rights of the Catholic Church and its freedom of action was a central factor in the decisions of the Holy See, for instance, when Polish officials arrested Greek Catholic priests and intruded into cloisters of nuns in Eastern Galicia. The Holy See responded to these violations by presenting to the Polish government an energetic objection and an official protest. Since the Holy See aimed at protecting the rights of the Greek Catholic Church and not those of the Ukrainians, it did not consider it was endangering its principle of impartiality.
The principle of impartiality was inherently connected with the pontiff s role as the supreme spiritual shepherd of the universal Catholic Church. Pope Pius XI emphasized the equal benevolence he felt as the Holy Father of all Catholics towards both Roman Catholic Poles and Greek Catholic Ukrainians. In order to not offend either party, the Holy See could not interfere in the disputes between the Poles and the Ukrainians which were primarily a result of conflicting national interests. The Holy See considered that to remain impartial it was required to abstain from taking a public stance in what it regarded as purely political issues. According to the Holy See these issues included, for instance, the territorial dispute over Eastern Galicia.
The Holy See´s principle of promoting peace between nations can be attested, for instance, in the Vatican´s endeavor to guide nationality-conscious bishops and clergy towards Christian fraternity. The Holy See considered as particularly problematic the fact that the nationalism of the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic clerics inspired them to participate in nationalistic politics, and sometimes they seemed to pay more attention to politics than to saving souls. At the same time the national politics and enmity among the bishops and the clergy caused confusion in the parishioners and disrupted the amicable coexistence between the Poles and the Ukrainians. The Holy See instructed the bishops and priests to set an example by showing moderation and thus promoting peace in Eastern Galicia.
The main focus of this study is on the two most difficult challenges brought forth by the Polish-Ukrainian tensions Pius XI faced during his pontificate, which aptly demonstrate the principles of the Holy See. The first of these cases was a dispute between the Holy See and the Polish government concerning the return of the Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytskyi, considered as an enemy by the Poles, to his Archiepiscopal See of Lviv (Eastern Galicia) from his extended journey abroad in 1923. In this case the emphasis was on the principles of ensuring the rights of the church and promoting peace and preventing unrest between the Poles and the Ukrainians. The second problematic case arising from the Polish-Ukrainian tensions dealt with the violent pacification of Ukrainians in the fall of 1930 ordered by the Prime Minister of Poland Józef Piłsudski. This case was of a political nature and because of that, the Holy See s principle of impartiality significantly affected the Pope s resolutions. Pius XI held the principle of impartiality to bind him even when his conscience told him to publicly express his disapproval of the violence inflicted on Ukrainians.

North American Laestadianism, also known as Apostolic Lutheranism, has been divided by schisms on several occasions, which in turn, have also had an effect on the development of schisms within the revivalist movement in Scandinavia. The revivalist movement s problematic history has been traditionally explained by members of the movement as being caused by the actions of individuals or different doctrines. No comprehensive, scientific study has examined the reasons behind the schisms.
Those Laestadians who joined the revivalist movement in the original regions, from which they would later emigrate to North America, did not bring with them a monolithic dogmatic heritage. Into the doctrinal diversity of the Apostolic Lutheran melting pot were added the challenges brought forth by the movement s own independent free church status and Americanization.
The revivalist movement s leadership in Fennoscandinavia attempted to guide the North American movement, without understanding the factors that were influencing its development. As a result, the leadership created additional conflicts, which precipitated a schism. The doctrinal views within this lay movement were not developed systematically, but rather situationally.
The group formation was influenced by the fact that three different languages were spoken in the regions from which the immigrants departed: Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian. In addition to these languages, the immigrants adapted to English usage in North America. The assimilation process progressed at a different pace with different individuals and groups. Thus, they usually ended up having to respond to challenges without a vision, and as a result, the solutions were pragmatic. The chronologically uneven development of schisms in the revivalist movement s areas of influence in Scandinavia and North America also created a situation in which not all of the groups found a corresponding group on the other continent. This factor caused more tension within the movement.
The aforementioned factors shaped from Apostolic Lutheranism, in terms of its identity, practices, organization, doctrinal emphases and group formation, a distinctive form of Laestadianism, which maintained contact with the Old Country . This slowed down the pace of Americanization in Apostolic Lutheranism, more so than in other Finnish American churches, and stoked divisions within Laestadianism in Fennoscandinavia. Thus, Apostolic Lutheranism diverged from the general developmental trends of other immigrant churches.
Keywords: Finnish immigration to North America, assimilation, laestadianism,laestadian schisms, the third use of the Law, confession

This study analyzes early twentieth-century ecotheology about which it provides a great deal of new information. The focal point is the work of Joseph Sittler (1904 1987), an American Lutheran and ecumenical theologian. Through the use of systematic analysis and historical methods, Sittler s thought is placed in context in relation to other early ecotheology and environmentalism.
Many strands of early ecotheology are here reintroduced into the discourse on ecotheology, such as the British contributions by both Anglican and Reformed theologians. For the first time, a relatively comprehensive overview of early ecotheology is given. American and British sources are the most prominent, although some discussion about Scandinavian ecotheology is included. German sources are not used, but early German ecotheology is briefly discussed.
The study confirms that there were significant forms of Christian environmental thought and action well before the age of environmentalism began in the 1960s. This fact has consequences for the definition of ecotheology. The study includes substantive discussion of definitions, typologies and methods of environmental theology. It argues that ecotheology (or ecological theology) has many benefits as a general term for the subject matter. The existence of early ecotheology requires that the concept be widened to include these early forms, even though a significant change took place in the 1960s, when a wider ecotheological movement was born.
For the first time, the growth of ecotheology is placed in the historical context of theological developments in the twentieth century. One of the findings is that certain socially-oriented forms of Christian theology included environmental concerns early on. Especially significant in this regard is Walter Rauschenbusch, the famous Social Gospel theologian, whose ecotheology receives a close reading for the first time in this study, and the multitalented Liberty Hyde Bailey. The study shows that their concerns were picked up by different post-liberal (in a general sense) and neo-liberal theologians, such as several of the realist theologians in the United States. Paul Tillich s theology of nature evidently made a powerful impact. The most influential early ecotheologians combined insights from both liberalism and neo-orthodoxy. Through their work, the legacy of early ecotheology was carried on to the next generation, who made their mark in the age of environmentalism.
In this study, Sittler s early theological development is comprehensively examined for the first time. Although Sittler grew up in a traditional American Lutheran environment, he was affected by ecumenical currents relatively early on. Already in his youth he manifested a strong interest in the natural world and the fine arts, both of which later became major themes in his theology. Sittler was shaped by neo-orthodoxy and Scandinavian theology as propounded by his teachers John O. Evjen and Walter M. Horton, and he later became closely involved with the realist theologians, including Tillich. Sittler contributed to the changes in American Lutheranism, especially with his first book, The Doctrine of the Word (1948), and he soon moved in an ever more ecumenical direction. He was influenced by process thought, but developed his (eco)theology in a more traditionally theistic manner.
Sittler began addressing environmental concerns in the early 1950s, especially in his seminal essay A Theology for Earth (1954). At the same time he found his theological stance: Sittler wanted to develop neo-orthodoxy-influenced theology in a more earth-affirming direction. Many of the ecotheological arguments Sittler used are already found in some form in earlier ecotheology, but out of these arguments, Sittler constructed a more comprehensive ecotheology in a creative fashion. He included basic notions of stewardship, yet Sittler was exceptional in emphasizing the status of nature as man s sister and the interdependence of humans and the rest of nature. He further developed many of his insights in his later work, which is a topic for future research.
Overall, early ecotheology emerges from this study as multifaceted. There was dominion (Horton) and stewardship ecotheology (the agrarians, Walter C. Lowdermilk, the Malvern Conference 1941); there were eco-justice elements (Daniel Day Williams, Sittler), emphasis on spiritual experiences in nature (Bernard E. Meland) and ecological subjectivity (Charles E. Raven, Herbert H. Farmer, Tillich, Sittler). There was both strong and weak anthropocentrism, and some early ecotheologians emphasized the theocentric, intrinsic value of nature (Bailey, Tillich, Sittler). Numerous themes are featured, such as aesthetics, eschatology, Christology, Incarnation, sacraments and theological anthropology.
The role of these early ecotheologians is discussed in relation to environmental history and environmental education. The findings show that ecotheology was not as emphatically separate from other kinds of environmentalism as it was after the end of the 1960s and the Lynn White debate. Early ecotheologians contributed to the general development of environmental thought and action.

The British colony of Malta became the centre of attention in Anglo-Vatican relations in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Originally a local conflict between politicians and the Catholic bishops in Malta escalated into a diplomatic imbroglio. The central issue of the lengthy dispute was the separation, or the lack of it, between religion and politics. I examine how different perceptions of politics and of religion affected the decisions of the protagonists and the outcome of the diplomatic dispute.
The study begins with the Maltese election of 1927 and the ascent to power of the controversial Anglo-Maltese politician Gerald Strickland and his Constitutional Party. Before long, the government and the local ecclesiastical hierarchy clashed over the role of the clergy in politics. By seeking support from higher quarters, Strickland and the bishops embroiled the British and Vatican authorities in the affair. The disagreement began to unravel gradually from 1931 onwards, and the reappointment of the British Minister to the Holy See in 1933, which was a visible expression of the restoration of normal diplomatic relations, affords a natural end for the study.
The politico-religious problems in Malta during the 1920s and 1930s constituted an extremely complex skein. Owing to the traditionally strong position of the Catholic Church in Maltese society, it was closely linked to the central organs of Maltese self-government. Furthermore, the political activity of the culturally pro-Italian clergy inevitably drew the Church into political affairs. The situation was made more complex by disputes over language Maltese, English, and Italian were all commonly spoken on the island and allegations that Pope Pius XI had made a secret pact with Mussolini to help Italianise Malta. Strickland, in spite of his Catholicism, did not shirk from attacking the priests, most of whom opposed his efforts to promote English and the vernacular instead of Italian and abhorred his apparent want of respect towards the ecclesiastical authorities.
The Holy See was concerned with defending the Church against political aggression. However, Pius XI and the Cardinals of the Roman Curia wished to avoid conflict if possible and hoped to maintain working relations with the British. Still, in the case of Malta, the Pope was convinced that Strickland posed a threat to the Catholic faith. Pius XI was not prepared to back down before Strickland was removed from the political arena. Thus, the Pope sanctioned the use of spiritual penalties against anyone voting for him. Pius XI, who fundamentally regarded the political activity of priests as suspect, clearly perceived the Maltese situation as exceptional. He adamantly maintained that defending the interests of the Church was not an intrusion into politics, but the religious duty of the Pope and bishops as spiritual leaders.
There was a marked difference in the attitudes of the Holy See and the British Government on what constituted politics and political activity. The British Government was averse to any kind of ecclesiastical interference, especially that of Roman Catholics, in the internal political affairs of one of its colonies. However, the outlooks of the Colonial and Foreign Offices were not uniform. The Colonial Office, which was responsible for the governance of Malta, recognised the central position of the Church in local society. According to the central tenets of the Colonial administration, the Church helped it to maintain social stability and order in Malta, thus benefitting imperial interests that were mainly concerned with the security of the British fortress on the island. The Foreign Office became involved in the Maltese conflict because the foreign relations of the colony fell under its remit. The Foreign Office s policy started from the premise that the British Legation in the Vatican had no other purpose than to further imperial interests. Thus, the Foreign Office was keen to put an end to what it perceived as unwarranted meddling in the internal politics of Malta and cared less for the susceptibilities of the Church.
While both the Holy See and Britain agreed in principle that politics and religion could, and should, be separated, they had very different ideas on where the dividing line should be drawn. In addition, the public debate on Malta in Britain stirred up traditional anti-Catholic sentiment, demonstrating that anti-Catholicism remained a persistent feature of British society in the inter-war period.
After various efforts to solve the deadlock, the Maltese crisis was finally resolved when Strickland, encouraged by the Maltese bishops, apologized to the Pope in 1932. With his subsequent defeat in the local elections, Strickland no longer posed a problem for Anglo-Vatican relations. Although normal diplomatic relations were resumed soon after, the rapprochement was not based on any ideological consensus over the respective spheres of politics and religion in society but on solely practical considerations.

This study provides the first thorough investigation of the wisdom text 4QBeatitudes (4Q525). In addition to historical-critical methods, selected theories and models of literary studies, social psychology, and sociolinguistics are exploited in order to shed light on questions related to 4Q525 and its social world. The first part approaches 4Q525 from the viewpoints of material and content-related questions, while the second part aims at locating the text in its wider linguistic and literary context.
The material reconstruction of the fragmentary manuscript was carried out to restore the measurements of the former scroll, as well as the sequence of the largest fragments, while the study of its content began with an analysis of scriptural impact. Scripture is shown to have several roles to play in the composition. The analysis of quotations and allusions indicates the primary role of Prov 1–9 as a source to the extent that 4Q525 can be characterised as its rewriting. Other sources are used in an ancillary way, yet their effect on the work is dominant. The Psalms references in particular indicate that a Torah adjustment to the instruction of Proverbs takes place in 4Q525. The text also shares imagery and ideas with Deut 32 and Ps 91 that highlight the promise of divine protection and blessings, as well as the description of curses (frgs. 14 ii; 15; par. 5Q16 1–2+5).
The genre of 4Q525 is studied in the light of the prototype theory. The theory, which requires a fair amount of resemblance but allows for some differences, is outstandingly applicable because of the rewriting process detected in 4Q525. The form of 4Q525 largely follows that of the prototype, Prov 1–9, while the content, having various theological components, is more divergent. In particular, 4Q525 shares many topics and specifically the female motifs with Proverbs, but a distinctive twist is added due to the Torah orientation and the worldview with eschatological and demonological beliefs. The basic didactic function of 4Q525 and Prov 1–9 is the same, but in addition to preparing for good and successful behaviour, 4Q525 takes part in the spiritual formation of its intended audience.
Despite being included in the Qumran collection, 4Q525 does not contain specifically sectarian features and barely originates from such a movement. The likely origin lies in Judaean wisdom education of the second (or first at the latest) century B.C.E. The social function of 4Q525, related to the formation of group identity, might in part explain its context of discovery. The beatitudes and the description of curses (frgs. 2 ii; 15; par. 5Q16 1–2+5) serve as speech acts and social markers. The macarisms strengthen the self of intended in-group recipients, whereas the curses serve as an external threat and a means of group control.
The endeavour to place 4Q525 in its wider context involves the study of the text from the viewpoint of language choice. The sociolinguistic model of diglossia, concerned with the use of “high” and “low” varieties of a language, can illuminate the factors that affected the choice. In particular, the highly literary variety of Hebrew employed in 4Q525 was closely related to scripture, used in specific formal settings such as education, and pertained to Jewish identity.
The relevance of 4Q525 for the understanding of late Second Temple wisdom is prominent. Firstly, 4Q525 identifies wisdom with the Torah (2 ii 3–4) and contains other related passages (esp. frgs. 2 ii; 5; 24). It is argued that the concept of &#1514;&#1493;&#1512;&#1492; was helpful in wisdom contexts due to its multifaceted character and connotations. In general, the Torah discourse of 4Q525 lacks specificity, yet it is natural to wisdom poetry, which aims at promoting Torah piety. Secondly, 4Q525 should be included in the Proverbs tradition in the late Second Temple context when there was no fixed canon and the status of the ketuvim was in a state of flux. Further, 4Q525 indicates that its primary source, Prov 1–9, was regarded as worth reinterpretation and transmission to a contemporary audience.
Hence, 4Q525 is an informative exemplar of the changes in Second Temple Jewish wisdom tradition. The instruction is modelled after its literary prototype, Prov 1–9, but unlike early Hebrew wisdom, 4Q525 is Torah oriented and familiar with revelatory ideas. The text reflects the reception, reinterpretation, and renewal of the Proverbs tradition in the first centuries B.C.E. The text 4Q525 invites scholars to pay attention to rewriting processes as they manifest in poetical literature, witnesses the scripturalisation process of Jewish wisdom, and shows that Torah-inclined wisdom materials had evident spiritual and social functions in educational contexts.</p>

This study examines the poor relief at Finnish land parishes during the period from 1571 to 1686. During this era, Finland was part of Sweden, and in politics Sweden was an emerging Great Power. In the 16th century, the Reformation was introduced in Sweden and the ecclesiastical circumstances were changing. In the 17th century, the Lutheran changes became more pronounced, and some modifications regarding poor relief were implemented, as in all Protestant countries.
The principles of Swedish administration were renewed in the first decades of the 17th century, leading to several social, economic and political changes that increased poverty and decreased social care. This necessitated finding more effective ways to take care of the poor. This was a great challenge because the State had many expenditures and even in the countryside helping hands were becoming scarcer. Thus, the economy of the country was not meeting the needs of its people, who were then at the mercy of poor parishes.
In this study, the viewpoint presented is that of the land parishes. How the local country folk took care of their poor and the practices implemented are explored. With circumstances being commonly poor, this study examines how country folk handled the burden.
The development of Lutheran country parishes had differences, thus people had possibilities of different kinds to organize poor relief. Basic poor relief continued in several parishes as it had for over a hundred years. This meant, that predominantly family, relatives and village people helped one another, with some of the poor roaming from farm to farm begging for assistance.
Slowly, other means of taking care of the poor emerged. Poor relief became more local, with each parish taking care of its own. Poor people and beggars were more closely defined, better controlling who was able to beg for alms. Authorities tried to forbid the wandering of vagabonds and vagrants, and for them begging became illegal. Unfortunately, at the same time the proportion of non-farmers was increasing, which made it difficult for a large group to earn subsistence. During this period money became a more relevant way of helping the poor in some pioneer parishes.
The administration of land parishes had the responsibility of organizing their own poor relief. How this was done was influenced by the wider circumstances of the country side. Country folk did not want to be subjected to administrative guidelines and taxes for poor relief. They wanted to help the poor voluntarily and within their own means. This is why changes in poor relief were so slow during this period.
The study shows that theological ideas did not have much weight in determining practices concerning poor relief in the country side. Economic hardship was more relevant than Christian dogmas in obtaining alms.